


A Gift Of Tea

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 21:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9142747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: After returning from a conference in Sydney, Newt notices Hermann's a bit exhausted from the flight, so, with some help from Mako, Newt makes some tea for him.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seaweedredandbrown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaweedredandbrown/gifts).



> My gift for seaweedredandbrown, part of the pacrim holiday swap. Hope you like it :3
> 
> All the teas listed are one's I've tried at Tevana. They're all really good.

The plane had already landed; Newt was just waiting for Hermann.

Hermann had been away at a conference down in Sydney for a couple days, and his flight back was today. In honesty though, he had missed Hermann over those few days, and even though he had the lab to himself, it wasn't the same without Hermann around.

The day he was supposed to take a flight back to Hong Kong, Newt decided that he'd go meet Hermann at the airport when his flight got in, purposely not telling his colleague of this. He wanted to surprise the physicist. At least there had been no delays in the flight... or at least another Kaiju hadn't attacked. Hermann said that the next Kaiju attack wasn't due to happen for another week, but Newt worried regardless that they could decide to break the pattern.

But the flight got here on time without complication. Newt hadn't minded waiting in the terminal, this way he'd get to see Hermann much quicker than just waiting at the Shatterdome for him to return. So Newt stood there and rocked back on his heels, waiting.

Eventually, he saw Hermann step into the terminal, his messenger bag that carries his laptop slung over his shoulder, and Newt grinned.

“Hey, Hermann!” The biologist called, waving at him. “Over here!”

He guessed Hermann heard him, because the physicist looked around when Newt called out. When Hermann's gaze finally settled on him, he paused for a moment before starting to make his way over. Newt, in response, jogged over to him.

They stopped short at just a small gap between them, or that was until Newt closed the distance and hugged Hermann, throwing the other man just a bit off balance.

“Oof- Careful, Newton.” Hermann warned.

“Ah- Sorry, man.” They regained balance and Hermann spoke again.

“You didn't have to be here.” He muttered, putting one arm back around Newt.

Newt scoffed. “Missed you too.” He pulled away, but still standing close to Hermann. “I didn't feel like waiting.”

“I shouldn't be surprised. I will admit, however, it's good that you came.”

He beamed. “Mind if I give you a kiss? I know you're probably tired, but it's been three days and I really missed you and-”

“Oh, for God's sake-”

Hermann grabbed the front of Newt's jacket and pulled him in for a kiss, pressing his lips to his. Newt kissed him back, making a pleased noise in response. After a moment, he pulled away, but leaving his hands on Hermann's arms.

“Let's go get your luggage, yeah?” Newt suggested. “It's probably coming in right about now.”

They went to go get Hermann's suitcase, and Newt couldn't help but notice how worn out Hermann looked. Given the flight from Sydney was a couple hours at least, he wouldn't be surprised if Hermann was a bit jet lagged from the flight.

“I was more worried the Kaiju were gonna pop out of the ocean and head to Sydney more than anything.” Newt said as he dragged Hermann's suitcase off the carousel and back to him. He'd offered to fetch it for Hermann. “I know what you said about the next attack, but, you never know, right?”

Hermann looked up to him and gave a quiet nod. He sat in a chair nearby the luggage carousel, his eyes closed and hands resting on the top of his cane. Newt handed Hermann his suitcase, watching Hermann stand, rather stiffly. Maybe the flight had been a bit cramped for him as well as being long, which couldn't have been good on his bad leg.

Once they stepped out of the airport, Newt hailed them a taxi for them both so they could finally get back to the Shatterdome. Newt had started droning on about the newest sample brought in as they went back through the city, and at some point, he looked over at Hermann to notice he looked a little dazed and his head resting against the glass of the window. Now that he got a good look at Hermann, he looked a little more than just 'worn out'.

Newt carefully put a hand on Hermann's leg. “You okay there?”

The physicist raised his head slowly and looked at Newt. “As well as I can be after a long flight.”

“Yeah?”

He rubbed at his temple. “...I may be a bit exhausted- nothing serious.”

“So, jet lagged?”

“Yes.”

“See, that's what I thought. What about your leg?”

“It's a bit sore. Long flights tend to have that effect on it.”

“Okay, well, you're starting to look really out of it. You know you can rest your head on my shoulder if you want.”

Hermann didn't say anything more, just gave a sigh and did in fact, rested his head against Newt's shoulder.

 _'Wow, he must be more tired than he's letting on if that's his only response.'_ Newt thought. He kept his hand on Hermann's leg, though Hermann's hand was now rested on top of his.

Newt right away offered to take Hermann's suitcase when they got to the Shatterdome. He sees that Hermann is tired, jet legged from the flight. He sees how Hermann is leaning more heavily on his cane, which usually points to his leg causing problems. Newt wants to help and take care of his exhausted boyfriend, who's had a long day.

He holds the door open once at their room (Hermann's room actually, but they've been sharing it for five months), and Newt can't help but frown at the way Hermann sluggishly moves past him and drops his messenger bag from his shoulder and to the floor. Not harshly because his laptop is in there.

“Dude, sit before you fall over.” Newt gently urges, pulling back the sheets of their bed.

Hermann does so and gives a sigh, leaning forward and rubbing his bad leg. “Newton, would you mind grabbing my pain killers?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Newt quickly fetched the pill bottle Hermann requested as well as a glass of water. “You need your other meds at all?”

“Took them before my flight left Sydney.” He took the bottle and water from Newt, taking one of the pills and drinking from the water before setting both on the nightstand. Hermann then starts to take off his many layers of clothes until he's left in his undershirt and slacks.

As the physicist lazily takes off his shoes, Newt goes to a chair by the desk and fetches something from off the back of the chair.

“Here.” Newt passed Hermann his long grey cardigan he liked to wear when he was sick or he needed to rest when his leg was being bothersome. Newt couldn't blame him; he'd felt the fabric before and it felt soft. No wonder Hermann liked it. Plus it fit Hermann really well.

Hermann slipped on the cardigan and lay down on the bed, or more like fell back with a thud.

Newt smiled at his sleepy physicist boyfriend. He got a pillow that he saw on the floor and fluffed it up, then sitting down on the bed and tapping Hermann's shoulder.

“Got a pillow for your leg.” Newt said. “Sit up for a moment and let me help you get comfy.”

The biologist put a hand under Hermann's back and helped him sit up. While Newt fixed up the pillows, Hermann kept a hand on Newt's arm, keeping hold of him. Once he was done, Hermann lay back down against the pillows and Newt carefully slipped pillows in around Hermann's right side, putting one under his leg as well. After that, Newt pulled the sheets up to Hermann's chest. Hermann, in response, glanced at Newt with a sleepy gaze.

“I'm gonna run off to the lab real quick. Need anything else?”

“No, this is fine. Let me sleep, Newton.” He mutters, his eyes fluttering shut. “Go check on the lab...”

Newt moved his hand to take Hermann's, watching as his breathing evens out and his face turns relaxed. Once Newt's sure Hermann's gone to sleep, he regretfully withdraws his hand. Hermann's right in saying he should probably check on the lab, and Hermann's deserves to rest.

He pats Hermann's hand and stands from the bed. He takes the bag from off the floor and moves Hermann's laptop from the bag to the desk.

Newt heads to the door, but takes one last look behind him at Hermann before he steps through the door.

 

* * *

 

Everything was all sound in the lab when he checked in, and Newt made sure everything was in order on Hermann's side of the lab, making sure no one had secretly messed with his things. Everything was fine there too.

Newt checked his email real quick, to find he got a message about new samples coming in.

Also that they should be here right about now.

“Oh shit!” Newt exclaimed, scrambling to put his jacket on and head out the big lab doors.

Kaiju specimens were becoming more and more scarce, and Newt made it a habit to make sure they got to the lab alright and in tact once they arrived at the Shatterdome. To him they were important tools of study that were going to help them win the war, by letting them understand the Kaiju, to find their weaknesses and gain the advantage. It was his job to find their secrets. He was- no, is- the best in his field when it came to Kaiju biology.

He got out to the main decks, and didn't have to wait long. He quickly checked over the new specimens in their tanks and confirmed that everything looked to be fine.

On the way back down, Newt ran into Mako.

“Hey, kid.” Newt greeted, giving her a smile.

“Newt.” She replied. “New samples?”

“Yeah, fresh off the transport. Thankfully, they appear to be in tact too, or at least as well as they can be, but I won't really know for sure until I can get them on the table.”

Mako glanced at the two large glass containers on the cart, two techs helping transport the material, then back to Newt. “Isn't today supposed to be when Dr. Gottlieb returns from Sydney?”

“He's already here. I went to pick him up earlier, but the poor guy's exhausted. He's sleeping off the jet lag.”

“Ah. You should make him some tea to help him feel better.”

Newt looked over at Mako. “Well, Hermann does like his tea. Maybe it would help.”

She gave a small smile. “And I'm sure he would appreciate it coming from you.”

“Yeah...” Newt mused. “Yeah... That's what I'll do! Thanks, Mako!”

“It's no trouble, Newt. You and Dr. Gottlieb... you're both family to me.”

“And you are too, kid.” He paused in thought. “Um, I... I might need your help on that though. Are you busy?”

“No, not really. Why?”

“I've... never made tea before.”

 

* * *

 

When Newt got a quick look at his new samples and put them into the cold storage, Mako brought by an electric kettle, what looked like a plastic pitcher, and a few teas that she kept for herself. Newt cleared a space and Mako placed the items down for them to work with.

“Have you ever used an electric kettle?” Mako asked.

“Does a Kurig count?”

She laughed. “An electric kettle is a similar process. It basically warms the water. Dr. Gottlieb gave me this a few years ago.”

“Oh, okay. So it is like a Kurig.” Newt took a look at the electric kettle. “Except this looks to be cordless.”

“It is. I'll show you how to use it.”

Mako pointed out and explained how to use the electric kettle and Newt quickly caught on to how to use it. Once the filled the kettle halfway full with water, he set it to warm until it boiled, following Mako's instructions. Newt thought it was probably a good idea to use this, since he used his Kurig for coffee and the taste of coffee might have leaked into the tea if he had used the Kurig.

While they were waiting for the water to boil, Mako explained to him brewing different teas and how to use the plastic pitcher she had brought with.

“Wait, if you put the tea leaves in here, after it's done how do you keep the leaves form going in the drink?” Newt asked.

“That's the wonder of it.” Mako explained. “The water, infused with the tea, filters out through the bottom and leaves the tea leaves behind.”

“I bet Hermann has one of these. That's so cool.” Newt looked to the tins of teas now. “You sure you don't mind me borrowing a bit of your tea here?”

“If it's for Dr. Gottlieb, then I do not mind. He works hard enough as it is.”

“He sure does.” Newt chuckled. “It's weird, usually he's the one telling me to take it easy.”

Newt picked up a tin that Mako pointed out was Earl Grey. There was another that was lemon and honeysuckle, and one that was jade citrus. The few tins that Mako had brought varried in flavor, but were all loose leaf, hence the plastic filtering pitcher.

“How long does it take to brew the Earl Grey?” Newt asked. “I think Hermann might like that one.”

“Time varies on each. For example, the jade citrus tea is a green tea; it'll take about 2 minutes. A Rooibos tea, like this one,” She tapped a tin that was labeled peppermint and white chocolate. “takes 5 minutes. The Earl Grey you picked is a black tea, and will take about 3 minutes.”

“You sure do know your teas, Mako.” Newt commented, turning the tin over in his hands. “Alright, let's do this.”

Newt opened the tin of Earl Grey and put as much into the infuser as suggested. At that time, the water was just about to being done and Newt turned off the kettle and carefully took it from it's platform and poured the water into the infuser. He watched as the tea leaves began to meld with the water and set a timer on his phone for three minutes.

“You think he'll like it?” The biologist asked Mako.

“Yes, I do, and I think you did well at preparing it.”

“With your help.” Newt added. “Thanks for showing me the ropes. You know, we should have tea sometime and just chat.”

She smiled. “I would like that.”

 

* * *

 

The mugs of tea felt warm in his hands as he walked back to his and Hermann's room. He'd taken one of Hermann's that he kept on his side of the lab to use for the tea; a mug with mathematical equations Newt had gotten him for his birthday. Newt had also fixed himself a mug just because. He usually didn't drink tea, but he thought 'why not'.

Newt opened the door to their room as quietly as he could, though when he stepped into the room, he could see across the way that Hermann was still sleeping. He was always so oddly still when he slept, but Newt could still see the soft rise and fall of his chest.

Newt smiled and started to close the door behind him, but it made an annoying squeaking noise and Newt winced at it. Stupid door. For a moment, he stood in silence, wondering if it had possibly woken Hermann. Newt almost thought it somehow hadn't woken the physicist, but then he saw when he turned around that Hermann stirred, looking like he was waking up.

“Hey,” Newt whispered, going over to the bed and setting the mugs on the nightstand.

He rested his hand on Hermann's shoulder and watched as he came back out of sleep. His eyes slowly opened and he gazed up at Newt.

“Newton.” Hermann muttered, his voice still heavy with sleep.

“Sleep well, Herms?”

“I suppose so. I at least feel more rested; I could not sleep on that flight.” He moved himself more into sitting against the headboard. “I smell something... What is it?”

“Oh yeah!” Newt turned and fetched the mug. “Here.”

“This... This is my mug.” He took it from Newt and took in the scent, the lingering steam rising from the rim and hitting his face. “Earl Grey- you brought me tea?”

“Made it too. Er, well, I asked Mako to show me how to prepare it, but I totally made it for you.”

Hermann looked from the mug to Newt and then back to the mug. He tentatively took a sip from the mug, his eyes closing again. Hermann didn't show any reaction at first, but then made a pleased noise and lowered the mug from his lips.

“This is well done, Newton.” He commented. “Thank you.”

Newt's face lit up. “You're welcome, dude! You just looked so out of it and- I ran into Mako and she she suggested that I make you some tea, and I thought it was a good idea. I know you like tea, so... Yeah! That's why I made you tea!”

“Well,” There was a smile on his face. “I do feel better.... thanks to you.”

“Aw, geez, Herms.” Newt leans over and kissed Hermann's forehead. “Glad I could help.”

The physicist taps his fingers against the mug. “I see another mug on the nightstand. Is that yours?”

“Yeah. Thought I'd pour myself some as well while I was at it.”

He patted the empty space next to him. “Then let us drink our tea and talk for a while. I'm feeling more up to talking.”

Newt momentarily puts his mug on the nightstand while he got himself situated next to Hermann. He picked his mug back up after and blew on the rim, dispelling the steam rising from it for a moment. Newt, sitting back against the headboard as well, took a sip of tea from his mug. Rarely had he ever had tea- he usually only made an exception when he was sick- but he had to admit, this wasn't too bad.

“So, how was the conference?” Newt asked, the taste of Earl Grey lingering on his tongue.

“It went decently well.” Hermann replied. “Though I must admit the first day was quite tiring for me.”

“Sorry I couldn't come with you.”

“I know you had things to take care of here. You don't need to fret.”

“But I like going to conferences and lectures with my nerd of a boyfriend.”

“Ah, yes, well, your company would have been welcome if you could have made it.”

Newt smiled and shifted closer to Hermann their shoulders bumping together. “Don't laugh, but the lab wasn't the same without you.”

Hermann scoffed. “I thought you would have enjoyed blasting your music throughout the lab without me to interrupt.”

“I mean, it was nice to have the lab all to myself for a little while, but you know it's not the same without you. I work better with you there. _We_ work well together. We're a package deal!”

“I suppose we are.” Hermann agreed.

Newt was quiet for a moment before he set his tea down on the nightstand and turned to face Hermann. “I missed you. Like, really missed you.”

“Newt, I was only gone for a few days.”

“Yeah, but I couldn't wait for you to come back. I still missed you.”

Hermann sat up a bit more. “I missed you too.”

He leaned forward to kiss Newt, and he returned eagerly. They pulled apart for a moment so Newt could take the mug from Hermann and set it on the nightstand next to his own. Newt then returned to kissing Hermann, one hand cradling the back of the physicist's head and the other around his waist.

Newt coaxed Hermann to lay down as their kisses started to turn into making out; deep, close, sharing the comfort of being with each other, especially after being apart for... not too long of a time, but after a time of being apart none the less.

The biologist pulled away to gather air into his lungs and he stared down at Hermann, his face flushed and his beautiful brown eyes looking back at Newt.

“I love you.” Newt whispered.

“I'm aware.” Hermann replied. “I love you too. Thank you for taking care of me and bringing me tea.” His gaze drifted over to the nightstand. “Speaking of which, the tea will get cold.”

“Will it be fine for another minute or two? I kinda really want to kiss you again.”

“I think it will.”

 


End file.
